ROME, November 18 – RIA Novosti. Nearly 7,000 people took part in the march against the closure of the Russian Lukoil’s ISAB factory in Syracuse, Sicily, the portal reported. today.

Organized by the Cgil and Cisl unions, the protest was attended not only by business employees, but also by their families and Syracuse state mayors. The action is accompanied by a strike by workers in the industrial zone in Priolo-Gargallo, where the factory is located.

According to the financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, the continued operation of the refinery is under threat as sanctions against Russian oil come into effect from December 5th. The company needs to open a line of credit to buy oil from alternative suppliers. The unions believe that the state credit institution Sace, controlled by the Ministry of Finance, can provide support to the factory to “guarantee the repayment of Lukoil loans by the banks”.

At the same time, a demonstration at the Ministry of Economic Development was organized in Rome by the union Uil, whose leaders, together with colleagues from other associations, were invited to the department for a roundtable on the situation at the refinery. According to an RIA Novosti correspondent, several hundred people attended the rally with union flags.

During the talks, Made in Italy minister Adolfo Urso “offered guarantees from Sace, but the banks that cut ISAB’s credit lines” took time to decide, according to the business newspaper.

Earlier, the head of the ministry, who assumed the duties of the Ministry of Economic Development, announced that the work of the Lukoil refinery in Sicily should be continued. According to him, the ministry plans to take measures to ensure the continuity of production.

Based on sources familiar with the situation, PJSC Lukoil, which is not under EU sanctions, is considering selling its ISAB refinery in Italy to limit its effects, as Bloomberg reports. According to Bloomberg, Onex Holding and Crossbridge Energy Partners are interested in purchasing a refinery with a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

In the spring, Italian media reported that several thousand (one to 10 thousand) employees of the refinery and related enterprises north of Syracuse, Sicily, were threatened with job loss due to the enactment of the next anti-package. -Russian sanctions. They led to the blocking of credit channels for a business supplied with Russian oil. One way to save the factory and jobs would be to nationalize it, but sources at the country’s Ministry of Economic Development said Italian authorities did not consider this issue.